Art of and apparatus for conveying fibrous material



Sept. 25', 193,4.

ART AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING FIBROUS MATERIAL Fl l3. l.

A. P. ALDRICH, JR

'Filed June 22 1931 1 1:5 I I I I lJ-I I I I I 3 Sheets-Sheep 1 RIAJEHJRV A EiiLn Sept. 25, 1934. A. P. ALDRICH, JR

ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR commune FIBROUS MATERIAL 3144;; AP. ALDRI EH,JR.,

Filed June 22. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet. 2

-md E Sept. 25, 1934. A. P. ALDRICH, JR

ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed June 22. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet '3 F I B. 3.

. Qmmiop Y AEALDRIEHJR,

Patented Sept. 25, 1934 ART OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING FIBROUS MATERIAL Alfred P. Aldrich, Jr., Lowell, Mass.

Application June 22, 1931, Serial No. 546,147

18 Claims. (01. 19--65) This invention relates to improvements in the art of and apparatus for handling cotton and like fiber, and more particularly to the art of coordination of successive lappers or other cotton treating mechanisms.

Among the numerous objects in view and advantages attained by the invention are:

First, elimination of hand labor;

Second, saving of power and avoidance of necessity for reopening stock incident to avoidance of calendaring;

Third, passing the stock through the whole system of treating machines in a loose, fluffy condition, and thus effecting cleaning and lapping at a minimum expenditure of power and wear on the machines;

Fourth, rendering the operation of successive lappers absolutely and positively synchronized automatically without added strain on the finisher evener;

Fifth, carrying a continuous sheet of fiber from the breaker to the finisher without stretching or puckering the body of the fiber;

Sixth, positively, promptly, and accurately reestablishing perfect synchronism of the machines independently of direct action of the evener and regardless of the source of power for any particular lapper whether drawn from the other lapper or independently thereof;

Seventh, establishing and maintaining such synchronisrn under the influence of variations in the motion of the machines being synchronized without direct control from'the evener of any of such machines;

Eighth, compensating for slight variations in speed of two machines, such as the breaker and finisher, for acting on the sheet of cotton being conveyed from one machine to the other substantially as if no slightest variation from synchronisin had occurred between the two machines;

Ninth, increasing the positiveness and sensitiveness of action of the evener by relieving it of load; w

Tenth, obtaining all of these advantages in the practicing of an art and the employment of apparatus applicable as well to old and well known mechanisms already in use as to new machines.

With these and various other objects in view as will in part hereinafter become apparent and in part be stated, the invention includes both the art of handling cotton and like fiber and the apparatus for handling the same, as will be subsequently specified and claimed.

For the purpose of definiteness and expeditious clarity of disclosure, a specific embodiment is hereinafter set forth in detail, but it is, of course, to be understood that this is the preferred embodiment in the sense of being an excellent expression of the invention but at the same time only one of many possible expressions thereof.

22 of Figure l and looking in the direction of.

the arrow, well known mechanism in the rear being omitted to avoid confusion.

Figure 3' is a horizontal section taken on the plane indicated by line 3-3 of Figure 1 and look.- ing, downward, parts being seen in top plan.

Figure 4 is a detailed, vertical section taken on the plane indicated by line 44 of Figure 3, parts being seen in elevation,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary, side elevation of a.

part of the finisher lapper showing one form of hook-up for the synchronizer drive.

While the invention is applicable to any of numerous specific machine embodiments,'. the

mechanical structural features of the invention are illustrated as applied to effect coordination,

and continuous feed between a well known breaker picker or lapper indicated at 1, and a finisher lapper 2. The two-machines l and 2 are of any form of well known make or may be new constructions especially designed for the synchronizing mechanism hereinafter described.

The machine 1 has the usual feed pulley 3 driven by a belt 4 from pulley'5 forming part of the variable speed mechanism hereinafter described in detail which includes a driving shaft 6. The shaft 6 preferably carries a pulley '7 engaged by a belt 8, which may be the source of power for the pulleyor which may distribute power to the machine 2, or which belt and pulley may be entirely omitted. An independent source of power, such as electric motor 9, or other actuator, is preferably connected withtlne shaft 6 to provide a source .of power independently of machine 2 and its source of power. As will become apparent hereinafter, the synchronization of the machines 1 and 2 is accomplished absolutely independently of whether they have the same source of power or whether their sources of power be different and independent of each other.

;As perhaps best seen in Figure 3, the variable speed mechanism referred to above includes a framework or support 10 in which is journaled the shaft 11 which carries pulley 5. The shaft 6 is also journaledin the framework 10 parallel to the shaft 11, and each of said shafts carries a cone drum 12, the drums being disposed with their tapers extending relatively in opposite directions, and the drums bein power-connected by a. driver belt 13 adapted'to be slid edgewise of the belt longitudinally of the cones for causing motion from shaft 6 to be delivered to shaft 11 at variable speeds as may be required. An appropriate guide 14 is fixed to the frame 10 and slidingly supports the slide block 15, which block has the usual guiding pins 16, 16, extending at the opposite edges of belt 13,- block 15 is slid along the guide 14,- the beit 13 will be shipped on the cone pulleys and thereby vary the relative speed between the two shafts 6 and 11.-

An endless apron 17 connects the machines 1 and 2 in a manner to receive the discharge from machine 1 and convey it as a sheet of substantially uniform dimensions, and thus feed it to the machine 2. The apron is driven at both ends, being mounted at the machine 1 or breaker picker on the driving roll 18 carried by shaft 19, which is positively driven from the mechanism of machine 1, as by an appropriate sprocket fixed to shaft 19 and engaged by a sprocket chain 20, which, in turn, receives power from a sprocket 21 driven by the mechanism of machine 1. The opposite end of the apron 17 is positively driven by being mounted on driver roll 22 fixed to shaft 23,

which is driven by appropriate gearing 24, or

otherwise positively actuated from the operating mechanism of machine 2. The roll 18 may be and is preferably driven from one of the customary discharge rolls of machine 1, while roll 22 may be and is preferably one of the customary intake or feed rolls of machine 2, but, of course, where newly designed machines are employed, any appropriate positive drives may be provided for the two ends of the apron 17.

For reasons which will become more clearly apparent hereinafter, and in order to compensate for slight variations in speed between the two machines 1 and 2 while synchronism is being reestablished, the two laps of the apron 17 are purposefully provided with slack, as clearly seen in Figure 1, so that a slight take up or let out of either lap may occur at any time without appreciably varying the condition of the load or sheet of cotton carried by the upper lap, and there is, therefore, no tendency toward stretching or puckering of the sheet. I

The shaft 19, as above stated, is driven from the sprocket chain 20 engaging one sprocket 25 of a pair of preferably integrally-connected sprockets, the other sprocket being 26, and

' sprocket 26 is engaged by the synchronizer control sprocket chain 27, which chain extends to and actuates sprocket 28, which is one of a pair of integral sprockets including sprocket 29. Sprockets 28 and 29 are journaled on a stub shaft fixed to and outstanding from a side plate or carriage bearn 30. There are two such carriage beams 30, as clearly seen in Figure 2, one at each side of the sheet of cotton carriedon the upper lap of apron 17, for confining the'sheet against lateral dislocation, and the beams 30 are fixed respectively to the frames of the machines 1 and 2. A shaft 31 is preferably journaled in the carriage beams 30 and is driven in any appro priate manner from the mechanism of machine 2, as, for example, by a sprocket chain 32, seen in Figure 5, which chain engages an appropriate sprocket 33 geared to and actuated by the mechanism of machine 2. At that side of the carriage beam 30 at which chain 27 and sprockets 28 and 29 are located, a sprocket 34 is fixed to shaft 31, and is engaged by a sprocket chain 35 which, in turn, engages and actuates a sprocket 36 which is one of a pair of integral sprockets of which sprocket 37 is the other, the sprockets 36 and 37 being journaled on a stub shaft 38 carried by so that, when the.

the adjacent carriage beam 30 and identical in construction and arrangement with the stub shaft which carries the sprockets 28 and 29.

An idler sprocket chain 39 is laced about the sprockets 29 and 37 in a manner to provide a free, idling loop for the laps at the remote sides or edges of the sprockets 29 and 37, while laps 40 and 41 pass down about the adjacent or nearer edges of sprockets 29 and 37, the laps 40 and 41 looping about and meshing with a sprocket wheel 42 journaled in a weight 43. Thus, the weight 43 tends to keep the inner, pendent loop made up of laps 40 and 41 taut while the outer or idling loop of chain 39 is left entirely free to vary in length according to permitted or occasioned vertical shifting of weight 43 incident to relative movements of sprockets 29 and 37.

It will be apparent that as the chains 27 and 35 are driven invariably at a ratio exactly proportionate to and by the gearing of the respective machines 1 and 2, the sprockets 29 and 37 will invariably rotate in exact synchronism with said respective machines and move clockwise. It should be understood, of course, that chain 39 is moving endlessly over sprocket 29, down and under sprocket 42, up and over sprocket 37, and then down and about the idling loop 39 and back up to the sprocket 29.

Any slight variation in the speed of either machine with respect to the other will occasion a corresponding variation in the relative speeds of sprockets 29 and 37, and such variation will occasion a corresponding variation in the movement of one part of chain 39 relative to the other between the laps 40 and 41. For instance, if the machine 2 momentarily speeds up relative to the speed of machine 1, the sprocket 37 will cause lap 40 to be taken up faster than lap 41 is fed out, and the pendent loop of chain between the sprockets 29 and 37 will be proportionally shortened so that weight 43 will be elevated. Naturally, the converse action will occur when machine 2 slows down relative to the speed of machine 1, or, in other words, the sprocket 37 will be proportionally slowed down relative to sprocket 29 and therefore fail to take up lap 40 as rapidly as lap 41 is being fed out by sprocket 29, so that the loop of chain between the sprockets 29 and 37 will be lengthened and the weight 43 proportionally lowered.

Likewise, sprocket 29 is sensitive to the action of machine 1, exactly as described with reference to sprocket 37, and machine 2, so that if machine 1 speeds up, the speed of sprocket 29 will be thereby increased relative to the speed of sprocket 37, and will therefore feed out more chain to the lap 41 than will be taken up by sprocket 37, so that the loop between the sprockets 29 and 37 will be lengthened and the weight 43 proportionally lowered. Conversely, when machine 1 slows down, and the speed of sprocket 29 proportionally slows down relative to the.

speed of sprocket 37, a greater amount of lap 40 will be taken up by sprocket 37 than is fed to lap 41 by sprocket 29 during the slow-down of sensitive, and dependable gauge of the relative movements of the machines, and mechanism influenced by movements of weight 43 may, therefore, be depended upon to correct instantly variations in the relative speeds of the two machines. To this end, a chain 44 is fixed at one end to the lower part of weight 43 and extends thence downward about a guiding pulley (carried by frame 10 or otherwise suitably mounted) to and is fixed to the shipping slide 15. A chain 46 is fixed to the opposite side of slide 15, passed about a pulley 4'7, (journaled between the guide rails 14 or otherwise suitably mounted) and about a second guiding pulley 48, (also carried by frame 10) and extends thence upward about a pulley 49, (carried by the carriage beam 30) and thence downward to and is fixed to the weight 43. Thus, movement of the weight 43 effects a corresponding movement of belt 13 in the requisite direction for increasing or decreasing the speed of machine 1 as necessary to re-establish exact synchronism with machine 2. And it will be observed that this synchronism will be established and maintained without reference to the source of power to the machine 2 or the source of power to the shaft 6. As a convenient mode of hookup and power distribution, belt 8 may deliver power to pulley '7, but this is not a necessary pre-requisite, and the control of speed of machine 1 is, therefore, absolutely and wholly independent of the evener commonly employed on machine 2, and is governed only by an out of step condition between the two machines.

It is desirable, of course, to prevent the weight 43 from moving or swinging laterally or otherwise to any position where it might interfere with other moving parts or deter its own controlling action, and, therefore, it is preferable to provide appropriate guides for the weight, such as the uprights 50, 50, between which the weight is mounted. It is also desirable to arrange edgewise outstanding plates or flanges on the weight to engage the uprights and thus cause the weight to move as a cross-head between the guides 50.

To those skilled in the art, it is, of course, well known that it is common practice to provide eveners for such machines as are herein dealt with, and particularly for the finisher lapper 2 to take care of inequalities in the thickness of the sheet of cotton, and, therefore, the machine will not operate at a fixed or constant speed, and though it has been proposed to synchronize two machines to substantial uniformity in speed by direct actuation through the evener, such attempts have not been practical because of the objectionable overload thrown on the evener. It will be observed that no extra load whatever will be imposed on the evener by the present mode of synchronization, and that the synchronization, in fact, in no sense depends upon the evener nor is it in any sense controlled by the evener except in the sense in which any occasioned variation in the speed of the machine may be said to influence and therefore control the action of the present improved synchronization.

It has heretofore been standard practice to roll up cotton from the first picker or breaker into a lap and then transport the lap manually to the succeeding machine, customarily laps in the multiple, say four at a time or more, being thus transferred. To make possible the rolling up of the laps for this purpose it has heretofore been common to calendar the cotton very heavily,

' and the result has been that the beater on the open the stock sufficiently for cleaning purposes and to make another lap. Where the cotton is passed directly from one machine to another,

' this loss both of power and of manual labor is obviated and the present invention enables the mechanical transfer of the cotton from one machine to the other in a loose, fluffy condition so that the heaters have little work to do in effecting the cleaning and lapping.

It should be noted that While I prefer the sprocket chain power transmission for the positive drive of sprockets 29 and 37, they may be driven by other appropriate and acceptable gearng, and other changes are well within the skill of the average mechanic without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Also, it is observed that the independence of the control without reference to the source of power insures positive, highly sensitive, and accurate synchronism regardless of any amount of belt slip in any of the driving mechanisms. This is true because the synchronism is re-established automatically when the machines get out of step absolutely without regard to the reason or the influence which occasions lack of synchronism. The slack apron also is a valuable feature in the transfer of cotton from one machine to the other, since the cotton will follow the contour of the apron and will, therefore, be neither stretched nor compressed during the brief interval that the different machines are adjusting their speeds after a change of speed in one of them. It will be understood, of course, that during this brief interval the apron will either increase or decrease the slack of its upper lap in full compensation for the variation in speed between the two machines, and the normal slack will be immediately restored on the return to perfect synchronism. Thus the sheet of cotton in travelling from one machine to the other moves on an arcuate path which at times will slightly vary in the degree of the arc with no variation in the actual condition of the cotton conveyed.

For an edge View of a pair of integrally-connected sprockets see Figure 2, sprockets 36 and 37, and it should be understood that sprockets 28 and 29 are identical. The other pair of integrallyconnected sprockets herein referred to will vary in their ratio according to the gearing of the particular machine to which applied to afford the proper relative speed of sprockets 29 and 37, but will generally present approximately the same edge view appearance as sprockets 36 and 37., so that an edge view thereof is unnecessary in the accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:

1. In the art of treating cotton in the course of subjecting the same to a succession of cotton lapping machines, the step of conveying the cotton in a loose, fluffy sheet from the discharge of one lapper to the intake of the other as a continuous operation while synchronizing the operations of the lapping machines so as to preserve the sheet of cotton against puckering or stretching, and the step of compensating, in the sheet of cotton being thus conveyed, for relative variations in speed between the machines by varying the path of the sheet.

2. In the art of treating cotton in the course of subjecting the same to a succession of cotton lapping machines, the step of conveying the cotton in a loose, fluffy sheet from the discharge of one lapper to the intake of the other as a continuous operation while synchronizing the operations of the lapping machines so as to preserve the sheet of cotton against puckering or stretching, and the step of compensating, in the sheet of cotton being thus conveyed, for relative variations in speed between the machines by varying substantially the whole path of the sheet between the machines in arcuate form.

3. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding a sheet of soft, flufiy fibrous work material from one to the other, and means for maintaining synchronism in the relative speeds of the two lappers operated directly from the source of power for the first lapper and when controlled by the source of power for the second lapper.

4. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, means for maintaining synchronism in the speeds of the two lappers, and means positively driven by both lappers for actuating the synchronizing means.

5. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, means for synchronizing the movement of the first lapper relative to the second, an actuator for controlling and varying the synchronizing means relative to variations in the speed of the second lapper, and means positively driven by the second lapper for moving the actuator.

6. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, means for synchronizing the movement of the first lapper relative to the second, an actuator for controlling and varying'the synchronizing means relative to variations in the speed of the second lapper, and means positively driven by both lappers for moving the actuator.

7. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for conveying fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for actuating one of the lappers, and means directly influenced by the speed of both lappers for actuating and controlling the variable speed means.

8. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving one of the lappers, and means positively driven by both lappers for controlling and actuating said variable speed means.

9. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving one of the lappers, belting positively driven by one of said lappers and having slack at one side of the driving means, and means actuated by variation in said slack for actuating the variable speed means.

10. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving one of the lappers, belting positively driven by both of said lappers and having slack between the driving means, and means actuated by variation in said slack for actuating the variable speed means.

11. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means-for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, slack beltingdriven by the mechanism of said lappers, variable speed means for actuating one of the lappers, and means for controlling and operating the variable speed means incident to variations in slack in said belting.

12. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving one of the lappers, belting positively driven by one of said lappers and having slack at one side of the driving means, a weight pendent from said belting and movable with variations in the slack of said belting, and connections between the weight and the variable speed means for controlling the variable speed means according to movement of the weight.

13. In apparatus of the class described, the com bination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving one of the lappers, a movable weight connected to actuate and control the variable speed means according to movemerits of the weight, belting suspending said weight and having a sliding engagement therewith, and means synchronized with movements of the mechanism of the second lapper for driving said belting and for causing. variations in the elevation of the weight according to variations in speed of the second lapper.

14. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for delivering fibrous material from one to the other, variable speed means for driving the first lapper, a movably mounted weight connected to actuate and control the variable speed means according to movements of the weight, endless belting having a sliding engagement with said weight for allowing the belting to move freely past the weight while sustaining the weight on a loop of the belt ing, and means synchronized with the second lapper for driving the belting, the belting having a loop additional to the first-mentioned loop and beyond the driving means.

15. The combination as claimed in claim 14: wherein the belting is a sprocket chain and the driving means is made up of sprockets.

16. The combination as claimed in claim 14 wherein the belting is a sprocket chain and the driving means is made up of sprockets and includes driving gear directly driven from the sec ond lapper.

17. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding a sheet of soft, fiuify, fibrous work material in an uninterrupted, expanded condition from one of the lappers to the other, and means actuated by an out-of-step condition of the lappers and driven positively from the source of power or" one of the lappers for maintaining synchronism in the relative speeds of the two lappers.

18. In apparatus of the class described, the combination, with spaced lappers, of means for feeding a sheet of soft, fiufiy, fibrous work material from one of the lappers to the other, and means for maintaining synchronism in the speed of the two lappers with substantial smoothness in the running of the lappers, and positively driven means for actuating the synchronizing means driven directly from the source of power of one of in the speed of the last-mentioned lapper.

ALFRED P. ALDRICH, JR. 

